melonDS Android

Android port of the DS emulator, melonDS.

This is just the core library with the appropriate changes required to make melonDS build for Android. An example of a working frontend can be found in the melonDS Android repository.

melonDS

DS emulator, sorta

The goal is to do things right and fast, akin to blargSNES (but hopefully better). But also to, you know, have a fun challenge :)

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How to use

Firmware boot (not direct boot) requires a BIOS/firmware dump from an original DS or DS Lite. DS firmwares dumped from a DSi or 3DS aren't bootable and only contain configuration data, thus they are only suitable when booting games directly.

Possible firmware sizes

• 128KB: DSi/3DS DS-mode firmware (reduced size due to lacking bootcode)
• 256KB: regular DS firmware
• 512KB: iQue DS firmware

DS BIOS dumps from a DSi or 3DS can be used with no compatibility issues. DSi BIOS dumps (in DSi mode) are not compatible. Or maybe they are. I don't know.

As for the rest, the interface should be pretty straightforward. If you have a question, don't hesitate to ask, though!

How to build

Linux

1. Install dependencies:

   • Ubuntu 22.04: sudo apt install cmake extra-cmake-modules libcurl4-gnutls-dev libpcap0.8-dev libsdl2-dev qtbase5-dev qtbase5-private-dev qtmultimedia5-dev libslirp-dev libarchive-dev
   • Older Ubuntu: sudo apt install cmake extra-cmake-modules libcurl4-gnutls-dev libpcap0.8-dev libsdl2-dev qt5-default qtbase5-private-dev qtmultimedia5-dev libslirp-dev libarchive-dev
   • Arch Linux: sudo pacman -S base-devel cmake extra-cmake-modules git libpcap sdl2 qt5-base qt5-multimedia libslirp libarchive

2. Download the melonDS repository and prepare:

   git clone https://github.com/melonDS-emu/melonDS
   cd melonDS

3. Compile:

   cmake -B build
   cmake --build build -j$(nproc --all)

Windows

1. Install MSYS2
2. Open the MSYS2 MinGW 64-bit terminal
3. Update the packages using pacman -Syu and reopen the terminal if it asks you to
4. Install git to clone the repository

   pacman -S git

5. Download the melonDS repository and prepare:

   git clone https://github.com/melonDS-emu/melonDS
   cd melonDS

Dynamic builds (with DLLs)

5. Install dependencies: pacman -S make mingw-w64-x86_64-{cmake,mesa,SDL2,toolchain,qt5-base,qt5-svg,qt5-multimedia,libslirp,libarchive}
6. Compile:

   cmake -B build -G "MSYS Makefiles"
   cmake --build build -j$(nproc --all)
   cd build
   ../tools/msys-dist.sh

If everything went well, melonDS and the libraries it needs should now be in the dist folder.

Static builds (without DLLs, standalone executable)

5. Install dependencies: pacman -S make mingw-w64-x86_64-{cmake,mesa,SDL2,toolchain,qt5-static,libslirp,libarchive}
6. Compile:

   cmake -B build -G 'MSYS Makefiles' -DBUILD_STATIC=ON -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=/mingw64/qt5-static
   cmake --build build -j$(nproc --all)

If everything went well, melonDS should now be in the build folder.

macOS

1. Install the Homebrew Package Manager
2. Install dependencies: brew install git pkg-config cmake sdl2 qt@6 libslirp libarchive
3. Download the melonDS repository and prepare:

   git clone https://github.com/melonDS-emu/melonDS
   cd melonDS

4. Compile:

   cmake -B build -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH="$(brew --prefix qt@6);$(brew --prefix libarchive)" -DUSE_QT6=ON
   cmake --build build -j$(sysctl -n hw.logicalcpu)

If everything went well, melonDS.app should now be in the build directory.

Self-contained app bundle

If you want an app bundle that can be distributed to other computers without needing to install dependencies through Homebrew, you can additionally run ../tools/mac-bundle.rb melonDS.app after the build is completed, or add -DMACOS_BUNDLE_LIBS=ON to the first CMake command.

TODO LIST

• better DSi emulation
• better OpenGL rendering
• netplay
• the impossible quest of pixel-perfect 3D graphics
• support for rendering screens to separate windows
• emulating some fancy addons
• other non-core shit (debugger, graphics viewers, etc)

TODO LIST FOR LATER (low priority)

• big-endian compatibility (Wii, etc)
• LCD refresh time (used by some games for blending effects)
• any feature you can eventually ask for that isn't outright stupid

Credits

• Martin for GBAtek, a good piece of documentation
• Cydrak for the extra 3D GPU research
• limittox for the icon
• All of you comrades who have been testing melonDS, reporting issues, suggesting shit, etc

Licenses

melonDS is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

External

• Images used in the Input Config Dialog - see src/frontend/qt_sdl/InputConfig/resources/LICENSE.md